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       Breaking With Postwar History, Japan to Sell Patriot Missiles to U.S.

       Tokyo appears ready to adjust rules to allow the export of the weapons to the United States, a move that could help Washington support Ukraine’s fight against Russia.

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       Japanese troops passing a Patriot missile launcher in Tokyo in 2013. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries makes the weapon system under a license from the American manufacturers Raytheon and Lockheed Martin. Credit...Yoshikazu Tsuno/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

       By Motoko Rich

       Reporting from Tokyo

       Dec. 21, 2023

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       Japan is set to announce that it will approve the sale of advanced air defense systems to the United States, a significant shift in its postwar policies restricting the export of weapons and military hardware, and a move that could help Washington support Ukraine in its fight against Russia.

       Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s cabinet is expected to meet on Friday morning to discuss changes to Japan’s restrictions on weapons exports, a Japanese and an American official said, which would allow Tokyo to sell American-designed Patriot missiles made in Japan back to the U.S. government. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the timing of the announcement.

       The move is another sign that Japan, a pacifist nation since the end of World War II, is taking on a larger global security role. Although the country’s export policies prevent it from selling lethal weapons “destined for a country party to a conflict,” a working group of the governing Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, Komeito, has recommended changes that would authorize sales of equipment made under license back to the countries where the original manufacturers are based.

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       Motoko Rich is a reporter in Tokyo, leading coverage of Japan for The Times. More about Motoko Rich

       A version of this article appears in print on Dec. 22, 2023, Section A , Page 4 of the New York edition with the headline: Breaking With Its Postwar Pacifism, Japan Will Sell Patriot Missiles to U.S. . Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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